Monthly Archives: April 2023

national news

Clown show plays poorly

The Jim Jordan Clown Show opened and closed after the U.S. House Judiciary Committee chairman sought ostensibly to examine crime in New York City.

Except that the clown show wasn’t at all about NYC crime. It was an attempt to embarrass Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg, who had the temerity to ramrod a grand jury indictment of Donald Trump. Jordan, the Ohio Republican, would have none of that.

What did the GOP fire-breather do? He convened a “field hearing” in NYC that he said would seek to examine the crime in the nation’s largest city. Oh, wait! He didn’t mention that New York’s crime rate is among the lowest per capita of any large city in the country.

NYC’s violent crime rate is lower than, say, Columbus or Cleveland, in Ohio — where Jordan lives.

What the nation witnessed in New York was a blatant effort to politicize a legitimate criminal investigation, which the Manhattan DA concluded with the grand jury indictment of the former POTUS. And to listen to Jordan and his fellow GOP Trumpkins accuse Democrats of playing politics is enough to make me hurl.

What’s more, Jordan decided to conduct this so-called field hearing after he sought to summon Bragg to testify before his committee at the Capitol Building. One problem: Jordan has no legal or constitutional authority to require an elected official from one of our states to make such an appearance.

Alvin Bragg did his job according to the oath he took when he became district attorney. The grand jurors also did their jobs in accordance with the oath they took when they surrendered their time as working citizens to examine the evidence presented to them.

I am not going to take anything that comes from Jim Jordan or his Trumpkin cabal seriously until he — and they — take their public offices seriously. I doubt it will happen.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

education news

WT boss awaits no-confidence vote

Walter Wendler and I are strangers. We’ve never met. I mention that only because I worked for 18 years at a newspaper in the Texas Panhandle where West Texas A&M University is located, which means Wendler got there after I left my job.

But the WT president has stepped on some sensitive toes by canceling a drag show that had been planned at the campus. Faculty senate leaders are preparing a vote of no confidence against Wendler and plan to submit their results to Texas A&M System regents and Chancellor John Sharp, demanding they take action against Wendler.

I believe the WT boss made a mistake by injecting his personal religious beliefs into his decision to cancel the show. The Texas Tribune reports: In a letter to the campus community last month, Wendler canceled a student drag show fundraiser and drew criticism from students when he argued that the performances are “derisive, divisive and demoralizing misogyny.”

The “demoralizing misogyny” statement, to my eyes, is most troubling. Oh, brother.

Let’s just stipulate that WT is a public university. It is funded by the state, which is a secular government, no matter how hard those on the right wing seek to inject religion into government functions. Wendler, therefore, is an agent of the state. Thus, he should have exercised more discretion than to make such a bold declaration against an activity being conducted by students of the public institution.

West Texas A&M University president faces no-confidence vote after canceling drag show | The Texas Tribune

The Tribune reports further: “We do not take this step lightly,” Ashley Pinkham, faculty senate president, wrote in a letter to all professors Monday announcing the vote. “However, we believe that the mission to provide intellectually challenging, critically reflective, and inclusive academic programs at a well-respected, high-quality institution of higher education is at jeopardy. We believe we must act now to restore the reputation of West Texas A&M University.”

I hate seeing this fine university being dragged through the social commentary mud … only because its president has overstepped his boundaries as the leader of a publicly funded educational institution.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Uncategorized

‘Better,’ but not yet ‘good’

I believe I have made a reasonably profound conclusion upon returning from my westward journey to clear my head in the wake of my beloved bride’s passing from cancer.

It rests in an answer I give to those who know me and who are acutely aware of what happened to Kathy Anne on Feb. 3.

They ask: How are you doing? How are you feeling?

My answer: I am better. I am not yet good.

The conclusion I have reached? It is that I might never be “good” the way I used to define the word. Does that mean I am going to wallow in my grief? No. It means — as I perceive it — that I will have to accept that the pain that shattered my heart will remain with me for as long as I live.

My task, therefore, will be to carry on even as I continue to hurt. The two elements are not mutually exclusive, as those who have been through it have told me.

One dear friend — a fellow I have known since we were in high school — counseled me on my trip out west to “not be afraid to move forward, but never forget where you’ve been.” He speaks from his own experience of having lost his wife to cancer just a few years ago. My friend is a wise man and I take his advice seriously.

My trip was a good tonic for me. I returned home to North Texas feeling more peaceful than I did when I departed with Toby the Puppy. I am feeling better today than I did a month ago.

And you know what? I am not going to look for the “good” feeling. I will know if and when it shows up … kinda like the moment I first laid eyes on the girl of my dreams.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

Right-winger needs close scrutiny

How many times has this happened before? A politician who proclaims fealty to his wife, who stands on the shoulders of those who wrote holy scripture finds himself the subject of a possible investigation into conduct unbecoming of such a God-fearing human.

So it is with Texas state Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royse City, who has been accused of having sex with a legislative intern. Slaton, through his lawyer, calls the allegation trash. You would expect him to say such a thing.

Look, I am not going to presume this young man’s guilt. I do not know him well, but he and I are acquainted, if only through a couple of telephone conversations we have had since he took his Texas House seat prior to the start of the 2021 Legislature.

It’s just that pols such as Slaton open themselves up to extra-keen-eyed scrutiny when these allegations surface.

Former U.S. Rep. Van Taylor of Plano admitted to engaging in an affair with a woman while running for re-election in 2022. He, too, is a conservative Republican who touted his love for his wife. He made a big mistake, which he admitted to doing; Taylor then dropped out of his GOP primary race.

Do you remember the case of John Edwards, the 2004 Democratic nominee for vice president, who cheated on his late wife while she was battling cancer … all while parading her in front of crowds, telling them how much he loved her? Sickening!

These are just three examples of the danger of boasting about martial fidelity. I always find it offensive when a pol uses his wife as a political prop, declaring that we should vote for him because he’s been faithful to the vow he took to “love, honor and cherish” someone “for as long as both of you shall live.”

I hope for a quick resolution to this Bryan Slaton matter. Someone on his staff has corroborated the allegation. It falls now to a House committee to complete its probe into the veracity of the allegation.

It’s serious stuff, folks.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

Is this guy in deep doo-doo?

A conservative Republican state legislator who happens to hail from North Texas might be in a heap of trouble, which requires Texas House ethics investigators to get to the truth behind some deeply troubling accusations.

Bryan Slaton of Royse City has been accused of having sex with a legislative intern, a woman with whom he had been flirting.

I don’t know the truth behind any of it; I know only what I read in the Texas Tribune and other outlets.

Slaton — who’s been married since 2017 — is one of those deeply conservative GOP lawmakers who touts family values, morality and rails against so-called “woke” policies. The accusation is troubling in the extreme. It has been corroborated by those in the know, according to the Tribune.

Staffer alleged that state Rep. Bryan Slaton had sex with Capitol intern | The Texas Tribune

Two House Republicans, Briscoe Cain and Steve Toth, have called for Slaton to resign, along with Democratic Rep. Anna-Maria Ramos. I won’t wade into that mess.

I do believe, though, that it is imperative for the House General Investigating Committee to get and stay busy on this issue until it determines whether it’s true.

This clearly is a matter, given Slaton’s outspoken public views on character and moral clarity, that will not go away.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

Changes sprout in my absence

Holy smokes, man! I take off for a month, return to my Princeton home and see with my own eyes that the city has changed.

Maybe I need to get out more … you know?

For starters, the city street department has completed work on a Beauchamp Boulevard lane, giving motorists more direct access to Myrick Lane just south of my house.

Then I noticed that the city installed stop signs at the corner of Lowe Elementary School. It’s an “all-way” stop directive for motorists. To be blunt, this is something that likely should have been done four years ago when the school opened its doors to welcome the children, many of whom walk to school and then back home at the end of the day.

Whatever. It’s done and I’m glad about that.

More commercial development is occurring next to the major market near my house. I have put out a request from my go-to guy at City Hall — City Manager Derek Borg — asking what’s being built.

When I drove to my house Saturday afternoon, I noticed even more residences have sprouted like spring flowers south of my abode. Yikes! The growth continues.

What I discovered upon my return home is that it’s pretty cool to live in a city that is undergoing massive and rapid change and then to see the ongoing results of that change when one is away for some time.

Yes, you can count me as one American who is not at all averse to change. I welcome change to a community. A city that doesn’t change is a city that stagnates.

Princeton is not stagnating.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news

More guns = more violence

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is quoted asserting that given the vast number of guns in American society, we should be “the safest country on Earth.”

Well, we aren’t. Not by a long shot.

Yet the National Rifle Association, at its annual meeting this weekend, is singing the same, tired mantra that the explosion of gun violence isn’t a “gun problem.” It is a “mental health problem.” It’s a “societal problem.” Donald Trump, the indicted ex-POTUS, told the NRA it’s a “spiritual problem.”

I will agree that all those factors have contributed to the violence. Yet the common denominator in all the massacres that have occurred in this country continues to be guns and the ease with which nut cases are able to acquire them.

The NRA and their Republican toadies in Congress are on the wrong side of history and of public opinion with their continual resistance to any reasonable legislation that could deter loons from obtaining guns and killing people.

Universal background checks are popular among most Americans, even most Republicans. That hold no water with the GOP and the NRA. They lean on the Second Amendment to the Constitution, which references a “well-regulated militia” as “being necessary to the security of a free State.” Can someone justify that the founders’ assertion that a well-regulated militia means any knuckle-dragger who’s able to purchase a firearm?

I continue to believe that there are legislative solutions that can be implemented that do nothing to infringe on law-abiding citizens from owing firearms.

Except that the NRA adheres to the all-or-nothing approach to interpreting the Constitution. The gun lobby’s stubborn resistance is going to get more Americans killed.

More guns mean more death and mayhem.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

A ‘fulfilling’ journey

Rarely — if ever — in all my years walking this good Earth have I enjoyed a “fulfilling” time away from home.

I had one of those experiences during the past month on the road.

My wife passed away from brain cancer on Feb. 3. I wanted to get out of the house for a while to clear my head. Toby the Puppy and I put a lot of miles on my truck … 6,629 of them to be precise. We saw many family members and friends on our trek to the Pacific Coast.

I have received a number of gratifying responses from those who read this blog. I have written of my pain and the journey I took to help alleviate it. Kathy Anne and I were together for 52 years and her illness came on quickly and it advanced in a savage fashion.

Some of you have expressed thanks for sharing my journey with you and those expressions mean more to me than I can possibly articulate in this brief post.

I have proclaimed that I have accomplished my mission by clearing my head of the confusion that overwhelmed me along with the rest of my family. I am thinking more clearly now about how to proceed with my future plans, which I acknowledge remain a work in progress.

My heart still hurts. I won’t try to repair it overnight. Or even in the next few months or even longer than that. I have sought to develop coping mechanisms to deal with the pain that I expect will flare without warning.

I also have learned that I need not apologize for those moments when I weep. So … to those who read these words and with whom I will have personal contact, you are hereby advised to expect these episodes.

All of this my way of declaring that my journey was fulfilling and was the type of adventure that my beloved bride would agree is necessary to cleanse one’s soul.

I am glad to be home.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

Admiration grows for Toby

DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas — I have developed even more admiration for my buddy, Toby the Puppy, as our monthlong journey through one-third of the United States of America reaches its conclusion.

You know already that he’s a road warrior to the max. I have discovered that he not only loves to travel long distances, but he also maintains enough patience to be loved-on by small children he encounters.

Toby the Puppy and I attended a flag football tonight at Dripping Springs High School. We were there actually to watch my great-niece, Riley, perform as a cheerleader for her middle school team that was playing flag football.

My puppy became a star with the kids in the stands. One little boy, about 5 years of age, asked me if he could pet him; I gave him the OK. He followed Toby the Puppy and me to our seats in the stands.

A little girl, about 2, wanted to pet him, too. Sure thing. Dad was nearby. She was extremely gentle, reminding me a bit of when Toby joined our family and our granddaughter, Emma, was a toddler; Emma loves animals and she handled Toby the Puppy with extreme love and care … which she carries over now that she’s (gulp!) 10 years old.

Our journey ends tomorrow. We shove off from the Hill Country for our house in Collin County. It’s been a marvelous trek for me … for reasons I have detailed already.

The journey that will cover 7,000 miles when it’s all over also filled me with admiration for my companion. Toby the Puppy has helped me along the way in a manner I am trying to figure out.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

economic news

‘New normal’ looks good

LUBBOCK, Texas — The “new normal” has become a welcome sight for this traveler upon returning to Texas after nearly a month on the road.

I am talking about gasoline prices.

There once was a time when spending $3 per gallon for gas would send me into fits of apoplexy. No more, gang.

I spent $6 for gas in California; $4 for gas in Oregon and Washington. Occasionally I would spot a gas dealer pitching gas for $3.99 per gallon.

I’m almost at the house in North Texas and today I topped off my truck’s gas tank at $3.19 per gallon. Good grief! I felt like the dealer was giving the go-juice away.

That’s the new normal for us who live in parts of the country where the cost of just about everything is less than it is in, say, the Pacific Coast, or in Hawaii, or the upper Atlantic Coast.

I noticed a billboard in California that seemed to boast about the fact that California charges motorists more than $1 per gallon in fuel taxes, which accounts for the unwieldly price of gasoline. Other states tax motorists far less per gallon.

I’m glad to be home, or at least closer to home than I was about two weeks ago. The price of gasoline causes far less sticker shock these days now that many of us have become accustomed to the new normal.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com